The life of an average girl turned marathoner

The inspiration

May 15, 2011. That was the day I went to watch my boyfriend run a marathon for the first time. It was his third marathon. He had tried to get me into running a couple years earlier in 2009, but back then I was about 80 lbs overweight and leading a pretty sedentary lifestyle. Running more than 20 seconds at a time was out of the question. I had tried a few times, but gave up pretty quickly because that’s what a 40 something couch potato does.

Summer 2009

And then in February of 2010, I went through a major, life-changing experience. My entire life was flipped upside down. In order to manage the overwhelming stress that I was dealing with, I decided I needed something to focus on. So, I turned to the internet and found one of the many sites out there geared to weight loss and exercise. I started tracking my nutritional intake, and I started running.

It was really hard at first, as could be expected, but being a goals-driven person I kept my eye on the prize so to speak. I found out that running is a huge stress reliever, a way to decompress after a long day. By the fall of 2010, I had lost about 60 lbs so far and thought I was ready to join a 5k running clinic. But, I didn’t get the support I was expecting in a clinic, and always running at the back of the pack by myself was very discouraging, so I decided that the group running thing just wasn’t for me. That coupled with the onslaught of winter, as soon as the clinic was over, I stopped running.

That rainy day in May, 2011, watching the marathon from a vantage point where I could see runners doing all distances of that race, the 5k, the half marathon and the full marathon, was finally the inspiration I needed. I watched as people of all ages, shapes and sizes ran by, and I said to myself “if they can do it, so can I”. That was it. That day, inspired by thousands of strangers, I made the decision that I was going to train for a half marathon with a goal race to take place that fall.

I signed up for a half marathon clinic that was scheduled to start the end of June (I thought I’d try my luck at the group running thing again mainly for the information sessions – a half marathon was serious business). I got some advice with respect to training myself up in order to be ready to join that clinic and four days later, on May 19, 2011 my journey began.

Meta

I started running in 2011 after losing 80 lbs in an effort to keep it off and get healthy. It didn't take long for me to realize the mental health benefits as well, and I quickly fell in love. Since then, a week hasn't gone by where I haven't laced up and gotten outside to enjoy the fresh air. But like everyone, every now and then I need a little motivation, and so there's always a goal race I'm running towards...